Fortitude. Fear never hurt you.
Fear has never once hurt you. The damage was done by whatever you did to make it stop.
THE GIST ON FORTITUDE: "Fortitude"
What does fear do to your decisions?
The frightened mind wants to be safe more than anything else, and it wants it now. So it does whatever it can to rid itself of the fear, and it betrays you.
You agree to the first offer because holding out feels unbearable. You leave because staying means another week of it. You settle, you sell, you send the message, and the fear dissolves.
What is the cost of fear?
What's left is the embarrassment of having abandoned yourself. That is the cost of fear.
Make enough of those choices and you end up living a life that looks nothing like the one you actually want.
What is fortitude?
Fortitude is the old word for keeping that choice. To quote the old adage: feel the fear and do it anyway.
You stay in the argument that turns ugly, because walking out will solve nothing. You keep the business going through the month where you're certain it's dying, because you know fear is doing the forecasting. You tell the doctor you want all of it, the real numbers, even though every fibre of your being would rather not know.
Why does it matter?
A person with fortitude gets to make decisions in the moments when it would be easier to abandon themselves. The moments that decide a life are almost always frightening ones.
Act with integrity and you will look back and it will be the thing you're most proud of.
Is fear a good guide to decisions?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What is fortitude?
The old word for keeping your choice when fear wants you to abandon it. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
What does a frightened mind do?
It wants to be safe more than anything and wants it now, so it makes you accept the first offer, leave, settle, sell or send the message just to make the fear stop.
What is the cost of giving in to fear?
The embarrassment of having abandoned yourself, and, after enough of those choices, a life that looks nothing like the one you want.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
Comments
Nothing here yet. Start the conversation: Huw reads every comment before it is published.
